Shearer would be unwilling to work under the current regime, but Lee feels the arrival of many of his peers on the Premier League scene as managers, combined with Newcastle’s problems, has convinced him the time is now.

And Lee believes Shearer would be able to keep Michael Owen at the club, even though his contract is up at the end of the season.

Lee added: “When you look at Roy Keane, Gareth Southgate, Paul Ince and now Tony Adams, then it is time for Alan to take the job on.

“I know for a fact that Michael Owen and any top player would come to play for him. We have not got European football and other things target players look for, but Alan will be a magnet.

“The fans would love him to take over now and Mike Ashley would solve a lot of his problems by appointing Alan and in turn accepting mistakes have been made.

“Now is the time to make the club what we all want. He could be a priceless get-out-of-jail card.”

But for Barton, his wretched season just goes on and he faces eight weeks on the sidelines after a clash with Wigan’s Lee Cattermole.

He has made just four starts this season after a six-match ban for assaulting his former Manchester City team-mate Ousmane Dabo.

Barton said: “I am not blaming Lee Cattermole in any way for this injury. It was a 50-50 ball and we both went for it. These things happen.

“It’s disappointing and frustrating, and my sole intention is to knuckle down and bounce back and get fit to help the Newcastle cause.”

Kinnear said: “It is a body blow for us and I am very sorry that we have lost him. He is one of our leaders on the pitch and he was just getting into peak condition.”

Kinnear, meanwhile, insisted yesterday that there is no rift between himself and Owen.

Kinnear opted to use him only as a substitute against Wigan, despite the striker’s assertion in his programme notes that he has been fit after a groin injury for a couple of weeks. Kinnear said: “People are trying to put a wedge between us.

“Obviously, Michael is concerned about his future and his contract. If I’m appointed, I will do something about it.

“I feel for him because of the situation he finds himself in both for club and country, but he answered all that in the best possible way, by coming off the bench and scoring for us on Saturday.”

“I could have taken the easy option of playing him earlier when he was struggling for fitness, but had he broken down what position would I have been in then?

“I could have taken the cheating option, if you like, given I’m only here for eight games, and put him in on my very first game even though he hadn’t trained for a week.

“What would everyone have said if he’d broken down?”

The futures of both Kinnear and Owen could be clearer this week, with Kinnear having indicated last month that an announcement on Ashley’s efforts to sell the club might come in the wake of Saturday’s trip to Chelsea.

But Keith Harris, chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce which is handling the sale, has hinted that economic conditions are proving a complicating factor.

But with Owen, Nicky Butt and Steve Harper able to talk to prospective new employers in January as they enter the final months of their deals and the transfer window looming, Ashley will have to decide whether to stick or twist.